Less than 24 hours after Global Motorsports Group’s (GMG) Alec Udell took podium honors upon his Pirelli World Challenge return, the 19-year-old would repeat his second place effort in the GT Cup class during Sunday’s Round Two of the MOMO Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park presented by Porsche. James Sofronas would overcome a rough start to gain twenty-one positions en route to 19th.

“Double podiums on our first weekend back is a great way to reward everyone,” stated Udell. “Two weeks ago, we weren’t sure if we’d even make it to this event, so to walk away with a pair of second place trophies is an awesome testament to this entire program. The car just barely made it to the track on Thursday, forcing us to miss the open test day and we were worried we’d start on the wrong foot, but the car has been excellent from the moment we rolled off. Everyone at GMG, Amsource Capital, and my great group of family and friends have been excellent at keeping our morale up, and it’s paid off.”

After finishing second and leading much of Saturday’s Race One, the Clemson University student came in to Sunday’s second round with an eye on continuing his recent momentum. Knowing that championship-leader Colin Thompson would be tough to beat, the primary focus for Alec and his No. 17 Amsource Capital Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 991 was on ensuring he had a good jump ahead of fellow competitor Sloan Urry, keeping his car clean in the process.

With several years of experience in the series, Udell was able to execute his plan perfectly, putting himself in second place by the race’s halfway point. With the race pace settling in, Alec would turn his attentions to simply managing his pace throughout the remainder of the race, comfortably in second, which he would see to the end. This would serve as Alec’s fourth podium of the year, and fourth in only five races.

In the GT category, team owner James Sofronas would endure one of his more challenging events of the year in the No. 14 Spyder / The Thermal Club / Mobil 1 Audi R8 LMS ultra. During the series’ standing start, a glitch in the system would cause Sofronas to bog down as he tried to get rolling, allowing the entire field to get by him, thankfully avoiding incident in the process.

With the tricky, sweeping confines of Barber Motorsports Park making it difficult for James to easily make work of the field in front of him, patience would prove key as he slowly gained position after position, ultimately gaining twenty-one positions en route to 19th. It was the first time the Villa Park, California resident has finished outside of the top-10 in four races, but his remarkable drive through the field still proved the strength of the team.

“We had a rough start, but it was a lot of fun working my way through the field,” stated Sofronas. “We had a rare issue getting off the line, and I’m thankful no one hit me. Once everything got settled in, I knew I just had to put my focus on to everyone ahead of me, and gaining 21 spots is always a rewarding feeling! We actually could have gone even further, but it’s so tough to pass here that I didn’t want to do anything too risky. Overall it was a great weekend for everyone, especially for Alec! I’m very happy to see him and the entire Udell family walk away with double podiums on the weekend, what a great way to return.”

With the Pirelli World Challenge season now in full swing, the series will return in three weeks time North of the border, at the heralded Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada. Practice will begin on Friday, May 15, with race events taking place on the 16th and 17th respectively.